Occupy organizers linked to Cleveland bridge bombing plot

My antennae went up when May Day dawned with news that “five people described as anarchists were arrested Monday in a Cleveland-area park for allegedly trying to blow up a bridge,” as Fox News put it.

The public was never in danger from the explosive devices, which were inoperable and controlled by an undercover FBI employee, according to sources close to the investigation.

It’s good to see that sales are still strong at Fake Bombs, Incorporated. This economy needs a success story!

A criminal complaint was filed Tuesday morning in U.S. District Court in Cleveland. Court documents say three of the suspects are self-proclaimed anarchists who formed a small group and considered a series of plots over several months.

U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, Steven M. Dettelbach, said Tuesday that the defendants “took numerous and repeated acts that demonstrated a commitment to violent, terrorist acts.”

(Emphasis mine.) Hmmm. You don’t really see a lot of free-range “anarchists” in the United States. But let’s do the math: five suspects, three “self-proclaimed anarchists”… what about the other two?

Occupy Cleveland canceled a scheduled rally Tuesday after a group of men connected to the organization were arrested by the FBI.

In a news release, Occupy Cleveland said the five men arrested in a terror plot to blow up the Route 82 bridge in Brecksville were “in no way representing or acting on behalf of Occupy Cleveland” and Occupy is rooted in non-violent principles.

These latest “rogue elements” orbiting the “mostly peaceful” Occupy movement certainly considered themselves active members. They mentioned Occupy on their Facebook pages, attended a meeting last Saturday, and talked like dyed-in-the-wool members of the Democrat-endorsed, Obama-embraced, media-romanced movement:

“Ships are a ‘d–n good target,” one suspect Douglas Wright allegedly said during a meeting with the other suspects, adding that all of the cops would be downtown for May Day.

Another suspect, Brandon Baxter, then allegedly said, “May 1st is going to be crazy.”

Here are the names of the other three suspects: Anthony Hayne, Connor Stevens, Joshua Stafford.

According to the FBI, the suspects showed interest in causing financial damage through attacks. Baxter advised the group that blowing up the Detroit Superior Bridge would would not stop money flowing to the “One Percent.”

The “One Percent” is a mantra used by the Occupy movement to represent the wealth of the top one percent in comparison to the other 99 percent. Main targets of the movement are large corporations and the global financial system.

The affidavit also said the suspects discussed targeting the opening of the downtown casino, the Federal Reserve Bank and financial institution signs atop high-rise buildings in downtown Cleveland.

Brandon Baxter “had for months attended Occupy Cleveland protests, actions, and sitting at the group’s tent on Public Square,” according to the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. He was charged with disorderly conduct after “disrupting a sheriff’s sale to protest foreclosures with other movement members” in March. He threw out more 100-percent-pure Occupy boilerplate when discussing the charges with a reporter:

“I took the risk of getting arrested because I feel the powers that be, whoever they might be – on all levels of government and those who hold corporate power – are not listening because not enough people are actually taking a stance” against foreclosures, he said.

“I was hoping that this would be a great way to get Cleveland more involved by showing the potential that a small group of dedicated people can have in making an impact. Even though we are not in any government position or in Congress, we do have the power.”

Dan Riehl at Breitbart.com points to Baxter being identified as an “Occupy Cleveland organizer” by the press, as recently as March 21, 2012. Fellow bomb-plot suspect Anthony Hayne has also been described as an Occupy “organizer.”

Pretend these cretins had comparably strong links to the Tea Party, which President John McCain openly sided with after Tea Party activists crashed one of his press conferences, saying “young people like the ones here today, including the ones who were just chanting at me – you’re the reason I ran for office in the first place.” Imagine the megaton media blast that would have been unleashed by today’s bomb plot news.

Instead, we get a plate of limp-noodle headlines about generic “anarchists.” The Occupy “leadership” is allowed to drop the foiled bombers faster than Obama can throw a problematic EPA administrator under the bus. And no Democrat is likely to face media calls to re-evaluate his embrace of the Occupy movement, which continues on its merry way, smashing windows and screaming “Here, piggy piggy!” at cops, while pretending that a noble and pure core of idealists is hidden somewhere behind a thick cloud of “rogue elements.”